What Happens to a Car When the Owner Passes Away and You Inherit It

When the owner of a vehicle passes away, the family and heirs must manage not only the emotional and personal aspects of the loss but also various legal procedures that are not always straightforward. Among these, one of the most significant is the transfer of ownership and the proper management of the vehicle's custody while the inheritance is resolved. Even though the owner has passed away, the vehicle remains registered and continues to generate administrative obligations: fines, mandatory insurance, MOT, taxes, and responsibilities in case of an accident. If a family member uses the vehicle without having made the provisional custody annotation, any incident will remain linked to the deceased owner, complicating the identification of the responsible party.

To prevent this, Article 32.6 of the General Vehicle Regulations requires notifying the Traffic Department within 90 days of the death, indicating who has custody and provisional use of the vehicle while the inheritance is processed. "It is very common for heirs not to know that the vehicle continues to generate obligations even though the owner has passed away. Our job is to guide them so that no administrative task becomes an added problem," says Lavinia Benedit, a lawyer at Pyramid Consulting.

Once the inheritance is formalised, the person who is ultimately awarded the vehicle must request the change of ownership by submitting the required documentation: application, corresponding fee, proof of payment of the Inheritance Tax, and other required documents. Only then will the DGT issue the new circulation permit. This process concludes the administrative regularisation and reflects the real ownership of the vehicle in the Vehicle Register.

In many cases, families are unaware of these requirements and face situations such as fines still being issued in the deceased owner's name, difficulties in insuring the vehicle or passing the MOT, inability to sell it while the inheritance is not awarded, and confusion over who can or cannot drive the vehicle. In conclusion, Lavinia Benedit explains that "the transfer of ownership and the management of a vehicle's custody after the owner's death is a process that combines succession elements and administrative obligations that are not always intuitive."

While the inheritance is formalised, the figure of provisional custody ensures that there is a clear responsible party for the use, maintenance, and obligations of the vehicle, and once awarded, the definitive change of ownership allows for the full regularisation of the situation in the Vehicle Register. Proper management of both moments (provisional custody and hereditary transfer) avoids fines, unexpected responsibilities, and discrepancies with the Administration.